I'm A Cover Girl!

Well, okay, not me... but my design is on the cover

of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Magazine - Volume 10.

I just received my advance copy today and I was 

so thrilled!

I can't show the design yet but you can be sure I 

will once the magazine hits the newsstands.

If you look inside you will also find a quilt I made

using the applique block I designed.

Stay tuned!

Debut!

Well, it has been a very exciting week around

my American Homestead!  On St, Patrick's Day

my first book was released and on Saturday I

gave my first lecture about it.

The lecture was about how I became a quilt and

craft pattern designer including all the influences

I have had in my life that brought me here and

of course it was the story of my first book and a

trunk show of the quilts.  It was so wonderful to

have had the chance to debut my book while

 being surrounded by so many of my friends.

And it was extra special since my daughter Katie

Rose was home for Spring Break and she could

share the day with me.

Afterwards, I signed books in The Quilt Shoppe's

booth and I'm happy to say we sold out of the 

first shipment.

Images courtesy of Silva Photography.

My friend Irene Silva of Silva Photography

captured these sweet images of people reading 

my book.  I'm so happy she did this because I

didn't get to see this since I was signing books.

What is so special about this is, this is exactly

what I envisioned as I was planning and 

designing this book.  I wanted more than just

the quilts and patterns.  I wanted people to be

able to enjoy beautiful photos that gave a feel

of each of the homesteads where these quilts

live.  Each quilt design has a photo of the house,

a landscape shot showing a scene from the area

where the house is located and a still life showing

decor or collectibles that would be in the house.

And then of course, there are all of the beautiful 

photos of the quilts.  Most of the landscape and

still life photos are mine, I took them in my garden,

on my travels, at Mounds Park, in my hometown.

The photo of the 2 kids in colonial costume for the

Colonial Saltbox quilt is of my kids, Katie Rose and

Brennan, in the costumes I made them when we

used to visit Colonial Williamsburg for our Spring

Break every year.

And then a few nights ago, a friend of mine sent me

a message on facebook with this link:

http://www.quiltersnewsletter.com/blogs/insideqn/2014/03/24/new-books-2/

A review of my book!  How very exciting!

Happy Worldwide Quilting Day!

 

Many of my friends are spending the day with

other quilters at a local quilting event...  but I

am home putting the finishing touches on the

nine quilts for my book.

 

 

I have hand sewn the bindings, sleeves, labels and

even some yoyo's on 8 of the 9 quilts in the past

month ~ 4 of them since Tuesday.  It has been a long

 but wonderful process and now my fingers are tired.

 

 

Since I have done nothing but work for the past

year, my studio is looking a "bit" disheveled...

I guess I will have to add " Organize the chaos

that is your studio" to the to-do list.

 

So the quilts will be traveling across the country

next week to spend many months at the publishers.

There are photo shoots to be done and the technical

editing begins.  I will miss them, they have become

such a part of my life.

 

Best wishes for a Happy Worldwide Quilting Day

for those of you that are interested in this form of

artistic expression.  And if you are not a quilter,

maybe you are lucky enough to snuggle up with one.

I love thinking of all the quilters I have come to know

all over the world, I wish I could see where you work,

where you shop for fabrics and your finished projects.

 

All the best ~ Ellen

 

 

Full Circle

 

A package arrived yesterday from out West.

Included in the package was this quilt I

designed and made for my Mother-In-Law's

80th birthday.

 

 

It was Mary Ellen's wish that after her

passing, anything someone made for her

should go back to the maker.

Nice to see it again, but bittersweet...

 

 

This quilt was designed especially for

Mary Ellen's 80th birthday so each block

contained 8 T's (80).  Can you find them?

 

The beautiful quilting is by Elaine Reed.

 

 

The borders have units that could look

like M's for Mary...

 

 

...but if you look at it this way they

could also be E's for Ellen.

 

 

Also included in the package was this

Irish Santa cross stitch I made for my

future in-laws before Mr. Wonderful

& I were married.  So long ago.

 

 

The American Folk Art Museum ~ NYC ~ Part 1

Saying goodbye to an old friend...

On Friday July 8th, the American

Folk Art Museum in New York

City closed its doors on its

main 53rd Street location.

I was there to view the paintings

and whimsical pieces of folk art,

but mainly, I was there to see the

quilts.  For those of you who

couldn't be there, here they are...

Center Star Quilt

1815 - 1825, glazed wool,

New England

Detail of Whole Cloth Quilt

Pots of Flowers Stenciled Spread

This type of spread was made

primarily in NY State and New

England.  Since the dyes were

not colorfast, they were not

laundered.

Detail of above.

Carpenter's Wheel

Pennsylvania, 1835 - 1845

Feathered Stars Quilt

1850 - 1860

This style of blue and white

quilt may have been influenced

by woven coverlets of the time.

English Flower Garden Quilt

Jennie Pingrey

Kansas, 1930 - 1935

Tree of Life

Cut-Out Chintz Quilt

Maine, 1925 - 1935

Grover Cleveland Quilt

New York State

Doll Quilts

Doll quilts were made by

children learning to sew.

Dresden Plate Quilt

United States, 1930 - 1940

Pieties Quilt

New York, 1848

Marion Cadman Hubbard

Aged 79

Embroidered Double Wedding

Ring Quilt

1930 - 1940

Detail of above.

Check back tomorrow for

Part 2 of the show.



Civil War Remembered ~ Block 12

Louisiana

We are in Week 12 of

Barbara Brackman's

2011 Civil War Quilt.

http://civilwarquilts.blogspot.com/

I made mine using

a different method.

Cut:

Dark: 4 - 2 1/2" x 4 1/2" rectangles

Medium: 8 - 2 1/2" squares -

 Mark a diagonal line on back

Light: 4 - 2 1/2" x 4 1/2" rectangles

Place medium square right

sides together on left side

of light rectangle as shown.

Sew a thread width above

drawn line (see next photo).

By doing this you allow room

to accomodate the turn and

do not distort the unit.

Press to the corner and

trim the back two layers

to 1/4". 

This is what I mean by a

thread width above the line.

The needle is just above the

line, not on it.

Repeat procedure on the

other side of rectangle as

show.  Then square units

to 2 1/2" x 4 1/2".  The

unit tends to distort at the

intersection at the top where

all that fabric comes together.

Make 4.

Place dark rectangle and

above unit right sides together

and sew as shown.  Take care

to sew just above the intersection

of the seam lines and not directly

on the intersection to allow for

the turn of the fabric in pressing

and you will get very precise points.

Press seam to the dark rectangle

and square unit to 4 1/2".

Make 4.

Layout units as shown

and sew together in 2 rows.

Sew rows together and

square to 8 1/2".

Here is another one I

made using different fabrics.

Check out everyone's blocks

at Dustin's Flickr site:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/civilwarquilts2011/



Civil War Remembered ~ Block 4

Texas Tears

We are in Week #4 of the Civil War Quilt

by Barbara Brackman.  Check out her blog:

http://civilwarquilts.blogspot.com/

Quilters use many different "types" of fabric

including Civil War Reproduction fabrics.

Reproductions are fabrics that are inspired

by actual fabrics of the time period.

I know quilters that will only work with

reproduction fabrics.  I know other quilters that

will only work with one fabric style in a

specific quilt.  For example, if they are using

batiks, the entire quilt must be batik fabric.

I am driven by color so I will use whatever

fabric works best for the specific quilt.

I can mix and match fabric types easily.

For this project I am trying to use reproduction

fabrics or at least fabrics that have the "feel" of

the Civil War era.

Dustin has started a flickr group where we can all

post our work in this project:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/civilwarquilts2011/

Evening Star Quilt Guild ~ January 2011

An Evening at the Evening Star

Last night was the Evening Star Quilt Guild

meeting in Anderson, Indiana.

Here is a sampling of some of the work of

our talented members.

I showed my civil war blocks but they

have already been posted on the blog.

If you'd like to see what others are doing

for Barbara Brackman's Civil War Quilt

go to Dustin's Flickr group at

http://www.flickr.com/groups/civilwarquilts2011